A total of 311 athletes representing 44 nations are set to compete in Antalya next week at the third stage of the 2025 Hyundai World Cup.
Yang Xiaolei is the only individual gold medallist from Antalya 2024 not returning this year. Kim Woojin, Mike Schloesser and Elisa Roner will all be back in south Türkiye.
Woojin is one of two defending champions of the world circuit at stage three and booked his ticket to Nanjing – host of this year’s Hyundai Archery World Cup Final – after winning in Shanghai. James Lutz is the other. The American compounder, however, is still aiming to guarantee his place.
Below are five archers you’ll want to keep your eyes on.
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1. Choi Yonghee
Who? The compound men’s team world record holder from Korea.
Why? He may be 40, but Choi Yonghee is having quite the season in the twilight of his career. he Korean has been on the world circuit since 2009 but has won three international medals already in 2025 – those coming at the World Cup’s second stage in Shanghai and the first leg of the Asia Cup in Bangkok.
None have been gold, though, and Choi will be desperate to climb back onto a World Cup podium for the first time since 2014, coincidentally – also in Antalya.
Choi was part of the Korean compound men’s team that set the new match world record in Shanghai.
2. Carson Krahe
Who? The 2024 Pan American Championship gold medallist from USA.
Why? Alexis Ruiz and Olivia Dean have won most of USA’s compound women’s individual medals over the past 12 months, with Carson Krahe often playing the understudy. That changed in Shanghai, where the 20-year-old won her first international medal – silver – last month, stepping up in the absence of her teammates.
She revealed her mental improvements were key in China, and now that she’s broken through, Krahe’s newfound confidence could be hard to stop.
Krahe only made her senior outdoor debut 21 months ago in Paris 2023.
3. Parth Sushant Salunkhe
Who? The 2023 World Youth Champion from India.
Why? For years, Indian recurve archery has looked up to Deepika Kumari as the country’s gold standard, with Dhiraj Bommadevara easing the pressure a touch recently. But there’s a new name emerging: Parth Sushant Salunkhe.
The 21-year-old recurve man showed plenty of promise after winning gold at the 2023 World Archery Youth Championships in Limerick and delivered on that potential in Shanghai, where he won bronze in just his second-ever World Cup appearance – pushing all-time great Kim Woojin to mount a comeback in the semifinals.
Antalya could be where the Indian archer truly announces himself as a star.
This is Salunkhe’s first season on the World Cup circuit.
4. An San
Who? The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games recurve women’s champion.
Why? After a year out from international archery, An San is searching for her first individual World Cup gold of the season. She topped the team podium in Shanghai, but that’s the minimum expected from Korea’s women, given their formidable history – even if China was their first appearance on the world circuit this year.
She reached the individual quarterfinals in Shanghai but was knocked out by compatriot and Paris 2024 Olympic Champion Lim Sihyeon. With a more favourable draw in Antalya, there’s no reason why An San can’t go all the way.
An San won all three available golds at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
5. Adel Zhexenbinova
Who? The Antalya 2024 mixed team gold medallist from Kazakhstan.
Why? Adel Zhexenbinova, alongside Andrey Tyutyun, made history in Antalya 2024, becoming Kazakhstan’s first-ever World Cup gold medallists in the compound mixed team discipline. A proud feat without doubt, but Zhexenbinova is still chasing success in the compound women’s individual category.
She achieved her career-best result in Shanghai last month, reaching the third round before losing to Asian Games Champion Jyothi Surekha Vennam.
Antalya was history-making for Zhexenbinova last year – can she do it again in 2025 and become the first individual World Cup stage gold medallist from Kazakhstan?
This will be Zhexenbinova’s fifth appearance at a World Cup stage in Antalya.
